The pocket of Halbe
Until April 28 the Russian units push the remains of the 9. Army toward Märkisch Buchholz in a woodland between Löpten, Hermsdorf, and Halbe. And the pressure on the cauldron grows. General Busse chooses the forester lodge of Hammer as a command post. The cauldron has now an extension of three times five kilometres and encloses about 200 000 soldiers as well as 10 – 15 000 civilians. At 14.00 a briefing takes place at the lodge with Busse and his Chief of Staff, Hölz and all attainable generals and division commanders. After an intense debate it is decided to break out in the direction of the west to reach the positions of the 12. Army, "Wenck" at Beelitz
Following the meeting the Commander of the XI. SS Panzer Korps, Kleinheisterkamp, calls up all commanders down to battalion commander for the last order. The first difficult stage everyone agrees will be the village of Halbe. The Panzergrenadier Division "Kurmarck" and the heavy SS Panzer Abteilung 502 receive the task of the spearhead with their fourteen King Tigers.
Halbe is situated between the autobahn (motorway) Berlin--Cottbus and at the railway track Berlin -- Dresden. The small town is surrounded by extensive pine woods and already has changed hands repeatedly. At the time of the planned escape it is occupied by strong Russian forces which have to cover the right flank of the 3. Guard Tank Army. The Russian leadership expects an outbreak of the 9.Army just here in the area of Oderin/Halbe/Teupitz for the withdrawal of the cauldron does not permit any other conclusion.
Two spearheads shall open the enclosure ring for the mass of the soldiers and civilians. The northern spearhead is lead by the remains of the Panzer Abteilung "Kurmarck" as well as remains of the SS Panzeraufklärungsabteilung 10 "Frundsberg" (tank reconnaissance department) under the order of Major General Langkeit. The southern spearhead commanded by Sturmbannführer (major) Hartrampf consists of SS Panzerabteilung (tank department) 503, a rocket launcher battery, an armoured personnel carrier company (SPW) of the "Kurmarck" and survivors of an officer cadet company, who are supposed to act as an escort against Soviet tanks. The mass of the other units shall follow the southern spearhead. The other heavy weapons are ordered to fire all rounds to the breakthrough sector, then blow up their guns and follow the northern spearhead.
On the way to Halbe the troops face a Russian anti-tank gun roadblock. This obstruction however, is taken by the storm troops right away. On the outskirts of Halbe the resistance gets more intense and rocket launchers open fire on identified targets next to the sawmill. Sturmbannführer Hartrampf then orders the leading Tigers under Untersturmführer (2nd lieutenant) Kuhnke in the direction of the centre of the village. It is 20.00. Kuhnke approaches an open anti-tank obstacle and receives immediately a hail of phosphor and explosive shells. The entire convoy comes to an immediate halt. Kleinheisterkamp, the XI. SS Panzer Korps General, leaves the rearguard to organize the advance. However, his SPW (armoured semi-tracked personel carrier) is immediately shot down.
Also the head of the "Kurmarck" gets dreadful fire in front of Halbe. The church which has been transformed into a strong resistance nest by the Russians is razed to the grounds by rocket launchers. The thrust from the after-pressing masses rises. Indescribable scenes happen. Unarmed irresolute soldiers and officers sometimes without badges of rank urge through Halbe towards the west. A self-propelled assault gun led by Obersturmführer (lieutenant) Bärmann of the SS-Panzerjagdabteilung 32 ((tank destroyer battalion) watches how two Blitzmädchen ( intelligence auxliary girls) lead and stimulate again and again the accompanying infantry. Everybody pushes shoves and storms through Halbe in direction to the railway tracks and station. Soon men and vehicles hurry and drive over corpses of the fallen. On top of it Russian soldiers, tanks and artillery fire relentlessly into the crowd.
In the meantime the King Tiger of Kuhnke has been shot down. The crew gets out uninjured. And the second King Tiger also gets a direct hit and is in flames. However, when they bail out the crew realizes around Hauptscharführer (staff sergeant) Streng that only phosphor has hit the tank. The crew turns round and drives on, f irst, with the rest of the Abteilung 502 direction to the south around Halbe, then again direction to the west to the autobahn. When dawn breaks they get to the “autobahn” (freeway).They kill two T 34 tanks and clear the approach from anti-tank guns. The ones who survive the breakthrough further drag themselves up to the forester lodge in Massow west of the autobahn. Behind remain the thousands of dead soldiers and civilians. The Russian war correspondent Konstantin Simonow who visits the place of the fright only hours after the breakthrough speaks about an aisle of devastation, destroyed tanks and trucks. Mountains of corpses and injured persons were waiting for rescue.
In the morning of April 29 the survivors assemble at the forester lodge in Massow. General Busse considers the next step with his officers. The forester lodge Wunder is regarded as the next stop. At first in the afternoon, they approach the Reichsstrasse Zossen - Baruth. Hartrampf who knows the area well since his training in Wünsdorf sends three King Tigers as flanking protection to the right wing. But this protection on the flank does not come to fruit. Seydlitz people (German soldiers who agree during the Russian captivity to fight against the Wehrmacht) assign another position to the Tiger crew under threat of court-martial and provide a Russian flank fire indeed. Seydlitz people are everywhere and provide a considerable disorder under the different escape groups. Even at the next assembly point at the forester lodge Wunder, Seydlitz people appear in German officer uniforms and try to talk the group into surrender. Some of these "wrong" officers die.
At the forester lodge Wunder almost all wheeled vehicles are tanked emptily and the fuel passed on to the Panzers. At 19.30 the march is off in the direction of Kummersdorf .While passing Horstwalde soldiers and civilians are attacked by Russians who get repelled. In the night to April 30 the artillery range Kummersdorf is reached and taken by storm. In the early morning the station Kummersdorf is the meeting point and fights with Russian anti-tank guns and infantry positions follow until the break through. A barrel of fuel is found and distributed amongst the tanks. A captured T 34 marked with the iron cross leads the pack. The entire way from the station to the artillery range West and on to artillery range East the group is attacked and asked for the handing over non-stop by Russian units and Seydlitz people. Finally the survivors assemble in in the town forest of Trebbin for the last time to organize the forces for the last breakthrough. There they meet the rearguard of the XI. SS Panzer Korps again. This Korps was pushed to the north and moved parallel to the main group direction to Beelitz. But only few men have survived the drama until here.
In the evening of April 30 the ordeal goes on. More vehicles are tanked empty again to keep tanks and self propelled guns mobile. A smaller group drives side safeguarding parallel northward and meets the rest of the group near Märtensmühle by nightfall. The main group with King Tigers, assault guns, storm artillery as well as more self-propelled guns crosses the Reichsstraße 101 and the railway line Luckenwalde -- Trebbin and make it relatively unmolested to the area of Liebetz.
In the night to May 1 the heads of the 9.Army stand between Märtensmühle and Berkenbrück. The resistance here similar to the next village, Hennickendorf, is broken fast. In the morning, the top of the column arrives at 04.00 at Dobbrikau which is crammed with Russian tanks and Stalinorgeln (rocket trucks). But this resistance is also broken soon. Constantly anti tank shells strike, constantly these guns need to be battled. The next village is Rieben. Il Sturmovik ground attack planes strike at the columns, without inflicting any serious damage. Also the village of Rieben is taken.
Near Schöneberg one of the two last King Tigers destroys an anti-tank gun and a T 34 before it falls victim to a Russian anti-tank gun. But the last German Panzer does not reach the lines of the Army Wenck either. It is left behind without gas. But the mass of the surviving soldiers and civilians has the will to crush the last Russian lines in order to make it to the Army Wenck along the road Beelitz - Treuenbrietzen. According to General Busse 30 - 40 000 soldiers and a few thousand civilians succeed in reaching the Army Wenck.
Until May 3 soldiers of the Army Wenck hold the catch positions in Beelitz. Many outbreak groups still come through. The survivors are weakened so that they are immediately transported by lorry and train to Burg and over the Elbe into an American captivity.